Flange protector



' March 28, 1933.. L. J. LEMERT 1.903220 FLANGE PROTECTOR Filed Nov. 25, 1931 WIT/VESS- Patented Mar. 28, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT? OFFICE LOUIS J. LEMER'I, OF BEVERLY, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED STATES PIPE '&

FOUNDRY COMPANY, OF BURLINGTON, NEXV JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY FLANGE PROTECTOR 7 Application filed November 25, 1931. Serial No. 577,217.

My invention relates to flange protectors adapted for temporary application to the flange of a pipe, valve or other conduit so as to protect the machined surface of the flange from injury during shipment and handling, and the object of my inventionis to provide a flange protector which will be at once efli. cient, cheap and easily applied or detached and which, by preference, will also be so constructed as to permit the use of hooks or similar tools adapted to enter the end of the pipe and used in handling the pipes.

Heretofore it has been customary to protect the machined face of a conduit flange by a wooden cover plate held in placeby bolts extending through the bolt holes ordinarily provided in the flange. This device is comparatively expensive and not entirely effective. It has been proposed to use in place of the ordinary wooden protector a sheet metal cap fitting over the end of the flanged ipe and secured in place by lugs extending irom the rim of the cap and bendable under the under side of the flange and it has also been proposed to provide in connection with such 7 protected caps aninner lining of some compressible material which will come in direct contact with the machined face of the flange when the cap is applied.

The novel features of my flange protector consist, in the first place, in providing as a protector for the face of the flange a single flat plate adapted to cover the flange and preferably, made in annular form, so that when the plate is applied to the flange it leaves the interior of the pipe accessible to hooks or other handling devices. Extending from the edges of the flat plate I provide lugs of bendable material, of such length that they will extend down over the edge of the flange to such a distance as will leave their ends free to be bent up under the flange, so as to secure the protective plate in position. These lugs are preferably attached to the upper face of the flat plate by welding, thus securing the use of the minimum amount of sheet metal in the manufacture of the plate and its lugs. Another novel feature of my construction consists in providing a separable sheet metal ring adapted to fit over the rim of the flange and to be held in place thereon by means of the lugs extending from the edges of the flat plate over the ring and with their ends bent under the flange. I

In all cases I prefer to use in connection with the face protecting plate and the edge protecting ring a layer of compressible material intervening between the metal of the plate and ring and the face and edge of the flange and this compressible layer may conveniently'be attached to the plate and the inside of the ring.

My improvements will be better understood as described in connection with the drawing, in which Figure 1 is a perspective View of the end of a flanged pipe with my improved protecting device applied to it.

Figure 2 is a cross sectional view taken as on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. V i

Figure 3 is a rear view of the flanged pipe and of theprotective devices applied thereto.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of'the face protecting plate with its attached lugs, and

Figure 5 is a sectional View on an enlarged scale, showing part of the same construction as in Fig. 2.

A. indicates a pipe having at its end an annular flange A B is an annular flat plate of sheet metal, adapted to cover the face of the flange A and provided with a series of lugs C, C, etc., of a bendable metal, preferably formed separate from the plate B and secured to its outer face by welding. These lugs are of suflicient length to extend overthe edge of the flange A and to provide a portion C which may be bent under the inner face of the flange, as indicated in the drawing, so as to secure the plate B in its applied position. D is an annular ring of sheet metal adapted to fit against the edge of the flange and to be held in position by the lugs C, C, etc., as shown in Fig. 1. E is a facing of compressible material, affixed to the inner face of the plate B and E a similar layer" C, C, etc. extending over the outer face of the ring D and the lug ends C are then bent under the inner face of the flange, securing both the face plate and edge protecting ring 5 in position. The annular form of the face plate B permits the entrance of hooks into the end of the pipe for its convenient handling and when the pipe is ready for use the flange protecting device is readily disassembled and removed by simply turning outward the locking ends C of the lugs.

It will be recognized that my device is of such a character that it can be produced at minimum cost and that it in use affords a remarkably secure protection to the flange while permitting of the handling of the heavy pipes or other conduits in the ordinary and most convenient manner.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A flange protector for conduits consisting of a flat plate adapted to extend over the face of the flange, having bendable lugs extending from the outer edge of the flat plate and adapted to extend over the edge of the flange and be bent under the inner face thereof and a separable cylindrical ring adapted to surround and protect the edge of the flange and to be held in place by the bendable lugs.

2. A flange protector device as called for in claim 1, in which the flat plate for covering the face of the flange is made annular to permit access of handling hooks to the inside of the conduit.

3. A flange protector as called for in claim 1, in which the bendable lugs are welded to the upper surface of a flat plate.

LOUIS J. LEMERT. 

